Ngwebi community outraged at ‘illegal mining’ in their area

Lolo Madonsela

The community of Mount Ngwebi near Riversdale, Vryheid is up in arms over coal mining in the area.
Residents alleged a Limpopo based mining company, GeoPoint Africa was mining illegally through the uMnyathi Community Trust, which they said did not have jurisdiction over the Mount Ngwebi area.
Chairperson of the Mount Ngwebi Committee, Wiseman Duma said, “We do not want this mine to operate here because they are mining illegally here. This land does not belong to uMnyathi Community Trust, but rather to Mount Gwebi, of which we are the land owners.”
Duma claimed the mining company ‘came with a lot of promises’ but these were never fulfilled.
“Initially when they came here, they were here for bulk sampling to check for coal and they promised the community a lot of things. It has been three years now and they are no longer sampling, but are now operating illegally. There are no safety measures in place, no road signs and no safety gear for the few community members they have now employed there,” said Duma.

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He insisted GeoPoint Africa was no longer doing what it had initially came for.
“During the day, they pretend to be collecting samples and at night, they bring trucks to collect the coal. They bring about three 30- tonne horse and trailers and fill them up with coal. The community is not benefitting and wants the company gone. This land was donated to the Mount Ngwebi community by the previous mining company. That company is still busy with rehabilitation of the area, so who are they paying rent to? That is why we want them to stop operating in the area, because they are even operating near people’s homes and that poses danger to the community.”
GeoPoint Africa confirmed it was operating in the area, but only conducting exploration on behalf of its sister company, Totafusion.
Responding on behalf of GeoPoint Africa, Ephodia Maheya said, “The company has a valid prospecting rights, which were granted in terms of Section 18(3) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002. Such documents were shown to the community structures.”
Maheya also confirmed the company had collected bulk samples for analysis.
“[The company] has considered collecting such samples in the area that has been exposed by the previous mining company, which worked the area in the late 90s. I must state that the Department of Mineral Resources was invited in 2018 by the Ward Councillor to come and explain the process of bulk sampling to the community, and they further confirmed all statutory documents and authorisations the company has.”
She disputed claims that no consultation had been done with the community.
“A thorough consultation with the community has been conducted and regular updates are given to the community trust. We believe these individuals who brought the story to you are abusing the privilege the company has given the community. This is not the case with us. The agreement we had with the community is that we shall continue conducting exploration (like we are doing), and where job opportunities arise, we should prioritise local people and that has been the case, because more than 90 per cent of the people involved in our exploration programme are local people,” she stated.
While residents insisted Mount Ngwebi belonged to the community in that area, GeoPoint Africa stated the land belonged to uMnyathi Community Trust, which is in the Mnyathi area.
“The property in question is owned by uMnyathi Trust and the trust has been consulted as land owners from the beginning of the project until now. Regular updates on the project are given to the trust as the land owner and only recognised structure representing the community. We have an agreement with the land owner which talks to rentals. Prospecting is a process of searching and verifying if there is a resource on the property and quantifying economic benefits on the project, and this stage does not yield any profits for the company. Instead, the company spends money. We negotiated that a lease shall be payable when the project is at a mining stage and such details shall be included in the Social and Labour Plan, which will be negotiated with all parties involved,” she said.
Maheya concluded that GeoPoint Africa was aware the area in question was indeed under rehabilitation, and said various specialist studies had been conducted to focus on the environmental impacts resulting from historical mining activities.
Attempts to get hold of the uMnyathi Community Trust proved fruitless.
The listed contact number was answered multiple times but the call was repeatedly dropped, until eventually the number was diverted to a voicemail service stating the number no longer existed.

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